Court staffer fired after security breach at Cardinal Pell trial

Victoria County Court said the employee had accessed restricted information

The court where Cardinal George Pell will stand trial for historic sexual offences has fired an employee for a “major breach of security”.

Victoria County Court in Melbourne said it had detected that the employee had accessed sensitive information without permission, and subsequently dismissed them.

Australia’s Herald Sun reports that there are now concerns over the integrity of the case, as it is not known precisely what information the staffer had accessed.

Defence lawyer Robert Richter QC has refused to comment on the breach, but Cardinal Pell’s legal team are believed to be particularly concerned about it.

“The Court takes the management and security of information seriously and has systems in place to detect where information is accessed without authority,” a County Court spokeswoman said.

“When improper access to information is found to occur, the Court takes decisive action. This is exactly what has occurred in this case.

“The Court pays thorough attention to ensuring our staff have privacy and information management training at induction and we maintain a focus throughout their employment on the importance of appropriate management of information in the Court.”